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Welcome to another Saturday night of beer, chips and fun. But before you head off to the Dog and Duck, here’s a few thoughts which our intrepid interlocutors want you to share
Generating renewable energy is all very well, but we are going to need safe compact ways to store it. Especially if we want to use it in cars, trains and mobile barbecues. Mr Gary Herbert of Buckinghamshire points us to nuclear batteries, as originally used in the famous Voyager missions. This is from New Scientist
Staying with Gary, he is anxious that test and trace works well to overcome the Covid 19 pandemic. Here the BMJ (journal of the BMA) discusses the UK Government’s soi disant moonshot project. Is one like this coming to a country near you? There probably isn’t an organisation quite so full of intelligent, learned people as the BMA in the world. So we should pay attention!
https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3558
Mr Peter Seymour of Hertfordshire always sees his science and technology through the lens of economics and society, like the great philosophers of the Enlightenment did. The UK has always had a North- South problem since the days of Disraeli and Mrs Gaskell. Here the BBC discuss how it plays out in the days of the corona virus pandemic
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/54250626
Time travel has fascinated thinkers for-well, a long time really. We at LSS frankly confess that the mathematics and physics of it are usually beyond us. Three cheers for all who make the attempt to explain. Here is Caroline Delbert in Popular Mechanics, chosen again by the indefatigable Mr Seymour
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/math/a34146674/paradox-free-time-travel-is-possible/
Far back in the mists of time, around 1973, scientists made the first use of proteins to study human evolutionary relationships. It was mainly the ones in extant species like humans and chimps, but it gave exciting results. Then along came glamorous DNA studies and poor old proteins got pushed out into Cinderella status-as they did in so many fields. Now Cinderella may be about to go to the ball. DNA is feeble stuff, it breaks down quickly. But tough old proteins may last for millions of years.
What was Homo naledi? What were those funny little hobbits doing in the caves on Flores, and why so small? Who or what was a Denisovan? Questions that have puzzled us human evolution buffs may at last be answerable. Here’s Matthew Warren in Nature.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01986-x
Once again, thanks to all who read and follow our little blog, wherever you are. Have a great weekend.
#nuclearbattery #renewables #covidtesting #testandtance #moonshot #covid19 #sars-cov-2 #coronavirus #northsouthdivide #timetravel #humanevolution
Learning, Science and Society 